Detachable iron holder for steam irons



Feb. I1, 1969 R. T. PADY 3,426,990

DETACHABLE IRON HOLDER FOR STEAM IRONS Filed June 22, 1966 f6 m h 94 Z0 INVENTOR E a 3. P0) 7 PA'DV BY/QvMX/W arrow/EX United States Patent 3,426,990 DETACHABLE IRON HOLDER FOR STEAM IRONS Roy T. Pady, 5130 Bushnell, Riverside, Calif. 92505 Filed June 22, 1966, Ser. No. 559,584 US. Cl. 248--117.6 Int. Cl. D06f 79/00 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Sadirons such as steam irons or the like present a constant hazard and danger when the iron is left on the ironing board while not in service, since the iron can easily be knocked from the ironing board or pulled by the cord by a child to thus cause the heavy iron to drop to the floor. Steam irons, in addition to presenting the above hazard, must be kept in a vertical or semi-vertical inclined position whenever not in use in order to prevent water spillage. Devices heretofore suggested for securing or holding steam irons to an ironing board or to another nearby household structure, of the type which must be affixed to the ironing board or other support structure each time the iron is used, are generally bothersome to install each time it is desired to use the iron since the iron holder is clamped to the ironing board or other household structure. Other iron securing devices of the type that are permanently installed on a household structure other than an ironing board tend to clutter up living quarters when not in use.

It is therefore an object of my present invention to provide an iron holder for holding a steam iron in a substantially vertical position, which is detachable from the ironing board or other household structure, but yet easily installable on the ironing board or structure.

It is also an object of my present invention to provide a semi-detachable iron holder which has one portionwhich is affixed to the ironing board or other household support structure and a second portion which is readily detachable from the first portion when the ironing board is to be taken down.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide an iron holder having a relatively small first portion which can be more or less permanently installed on an ironing board with a larger detachable portion of said iron holder coupling with said first portion and being readily uncoupled therefrom when it is desired to store said ironing board and said detachable portion of said iron holder.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my present invention will become apparent from the following specification and the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows in side elevation a sadiron holder of my present invention clamped to the side of a conventional ironing board and having an iron held therein;

FIG. 2, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1, shows a plan view, partially in section, of a clamp bracket used to affix the iron holder of my present invention to an ironing board;

FIG. 3 is an end view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the insert portion of the bottom plate of the iron holder;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show in plan view, a modified form of the bracket utilized in my present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an end view of an iron holder base.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, an iron holder 10 is shown in FIG. 1 attached to an ironing board with a bracket member 14 attached to the side of the ironing board 12. The iron holder 10 is readily detachable from the bracket member which is semipermanently afiixed to the ironing board 12, that is, it is removable from the ironing board, but is designed to be left on the ironing board when the board is put away between uses. The iron holder 10 is attached to the bracket member by inserts 16 (best shown in FIG. 3) which mate into slots 18, as best shown in FIG. 2.

Although my invention is described with reference to an iron holder which is attachable to an ironing board, it may also be attached when convenient, to other household structures such as a cabinet, shelf, counter, panel. table top, or a wall panel, etc.

The ironing board 12 shown in FIG. 1 is of the fabricated metal type where the side of the ironing board is formed by bending the flat surface of the board downwardly as shown at 20. While this type of ironing board does not form a part of my present invention, the embodiment of my present invention shown in FIG. 1 is particularly adaptable to this type ironing board which is currently in common usage. The bracket member 14 is a U-shaped member adapted to rest flush over the side face 22 of the ironing board. A conventional threaded clamp 24 may be used to attach the bracket to the under side of the ironing board. The upper end 26 of the bracket member 14 which contacts the front face of the ironing board, is bent outwardly and has a pair of slots 18 formed therein for receiving a mating portion of the iron holder body 10. These slots are best shown in FIG. 2. The bracket member 14, as previously mentioned, is relatively small and may be attached to the ironing board 12 initially and need not be removed therefrom each time the iron holder 10 is removed from the ironing board for storage.

The iron holder 10 consists of a base 28 shaped to receive the flat face of the iron 11, and a bottom plate 30 which is aifixed to the base 28 and adapted to lay flat on the top of the ironing board 12. As shown, the bottom plate 30 has an upper flap portion 32 which is bent to conform to the incline of the base member 28 and may be afiixed thereto by any conventional means, such as spot welding, screws, etc. The iron 11 is held against the base member 28 by means of gravity, a nose retainer or boot 34, and a heel retainer 36. The nose retainer 34 may either be a solid member cut away as shown, a mesh or grill member, or a strap member. The heel retainer 36 may take any number of forms such as a separate member attached to the horizontal surface of the base or it may be, as shown in FIG. 1, merely a crimped portion 38 of the base itself where the crimped section 38 is formed at an appropriate distance from the inclined portion of the base to form a receptacle for the heel 13 of the iron 11. Side guards 40 may also be provided as added precaution at any position longitudinally along the side of the base. As best shown in FIG. 6, raised heat dimples 42 may be provided on the surface of the base to reduce heat transfer to the base. The base structure preferably has mesh or waffle grillwork overlying the open portions, as shown in FIG. 6.

A supporting bracket 44 shown in FIG. 1, may be utilized to provide structural rigidity for the iron holder base 28. This bracket 44 is designed to support the weight placed on the base 28 and is affixed at its lower 3 side to the bottom plate as shown by affixing the foot member 46 to the bottom plate 30. The upper leg member 48 is afiixed to the bottom side of the base 28 by any convenient means, such as welding or screwing.

The insert section 16 which fits into the slot 28 of the bracket member 14 may be crimped or bent in as shown at 50 in order to prevent accidental removal of the iron holder from the bracket and to provide for snap securing which gives a positive indication when the iron holder is in place on the bracket member 14.

A modification of the bracket member 14 of my present invention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A panel 52 is provided with a slot member 54 to receive the inserts 16 of the bottom plate 30. This modification is particularly advantageous in that the panel 52 can be attached directly to the front face of the ironing board and is particularly useful for ironing boards which are either formed without a back face 21 or with a back face which is inaccessible. In the modification shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, screw retainers 56 are provided to secure the inserts 16 in the slots 58 formed by the slot member 54.

Although my present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments and with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the details set forth but should be afforded the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for holding a steam iron in an inclined but substantially vertical position on a horizontally disposed surface, comprising, in combination:

(a) an inclined base member for receiving said iron and having an iron nose retainer and an iron heel retainer;

(b) a plate member adapted to lay flat on said hor-izontally disposed surface;

(c) said plate member having an insert portion projecting downwardly from the plane of said plate;

((1) a securing means for premanently afiixing the lower end of said base member in a unitary manner to said plate member at such an incline as to prevent water spillage from said steam iron, and

(e) a bracket having a slot and means for clamping said bracket to an edge of said horizontally disposed surface whereby said slot receives said plate member insert portion to fix said unitary pl-ate member and base member on said horizontally disposed surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including a support bracket afiixed at one end to the undersurface of said base intermediate the ends of said base and the other end to said plate member to stabilize said base in its inclined position relative to said plate member.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said insert portion which fits through said slot is crimped in the area of said insert portion extending through said slot to thereby lock said insert portion in said slot so that said device will not remove from said surface unintentionally.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,852,650 4/ 1932 Halberstadter 248-224 XR 2,473,731 6/ 1949 Shepard 248117.2 2,628,051 2/ 1953 Anderson.

2,778,589 1/1957 Peterson 248-1 17 .3 2,987,288 6/ 1961 Shanks 248224 3,162,415 12/ 1964 St. Pierre 248-117.6 3,176,947 4/ 1965 Inverso 248117.6 3,305,200 2/ 1967 Avery 248-117.6

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT P. SEITTER, Assistant Examiner. 

